Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Sources Of Energy

How much do we know, scientifically speaking, about where we get our energy from? I'm not thinking of oil and gas and solar power and all that shebang; I have in mind, rather, the energy we experience at a personal level - the stuff that gets us out of bed, enables us to get through a day at work, and generally spurs us on to fill our lives getting things done as opposed to sitting around and soaking in the environment. Is the level of energy we're granted a fixed thing, determined in a mysterious way by our individual physiology? Or is it related to what we soak in from outside? Can we consciously accumulate more, or is what we've got a done deal?

Do we inevitably lose it as we get older? This last question feels particularly relevant on a personal level. It isn't that I'm absolutely certain that the answer is a positive one, for someone of my age, that is, though obviously there does come a point if you live long enough when the batteries no longer recharge; but if I am no longer possessed of the wherewithal I once took for granted then I really do need to consider active remediation, if at all possible.

In this regard, I've been struck by things I've read about Donald Trump, especially in relation to his interestingly insulting low energy label in relation to the unfortunate Jeb Bush. It seems Trump can be genuinely characterised as a high energy kind of guy, which accounts for the tweeting in the middle of the night and contacting various reporters at what might fairly be termed unsociable hours. In that sense, the insult to Bush was sincerely meant, with Trump showing a kind of primitive awareness of a genuine difference between himself and his erstwhile opponent.

I suspect I'm a low energy kind of guy who sometimes needs to pretend otherwise, relying on sheer will power to do so. But perhaps it's time to look for ways of cultivating enough get up and go to make the pretence a bit more plausible.

No comments: